Electrical enclosures, such as, for example, load centers or panelboards, typically house multiple circuit breakers and/or related electrical accessories. Load centers typically include one main feeder bar or busbar per phase of electricity to be distributed to a protected load. Load centers include an outer housing that limits the space available for installing circuit breakers and related electrical equipment therein.
Some prior art load centers are intelligent load centers that include one or more remotely controlled circuit breakers. Each of the remotely controlled circuit breakers includes components within its housing (i.e., the housing of the circuit breaker) to provide a remotely controlled ON/OFF operation of a protected load (e.g., lighting fixtures). One such product is, for example, a POWERLINK® G3 Remotely Operated Circuit Breaker, provided by Schneider Electric USA, Inc. The housings of such remotely controllable circuit breakers are designed to be installed into load centers with specific dimensions such that, for example, electrical distribution and supply wires have a sufficient amount of space and clearance therein (e.g., in the wire gutter(s) of the load center). Thus, such remotely controllable circuit breakers cannot necessarily be installed in and/or be retrofitted into load centers of all sizes. For example, load centers with dimensions for receiving circuit breakers having relatively smaller housings without additional components therein to provide a remote ON/OFF feature (e.g., miniature circuit breakers such as the QO® one-pole standard circuit breaker and the HOMELINE® one-pole standard circuit breaker, both provided by Schneider Electric USA, Inc.). Additionally, as the remotely controllable circuit breakers include various components within their respective housings that tend to have limited space, the remote mechanisms are complex and can cause such circuit breakers to be relatively more expensive than circuit breakers without such remote mechanisms (e.g., approximately ten times more expensive).
Thus, a need exists for an improved apparatus and method. The present disclosure is directed to satisfying one or more of these needs and solving other problems.